I work in the ethanol industry now, so I find it interesting to see the bashing of ethanol. I can tell you I felt much the same recently as most of you, however after educating myself on this subject, it’s very clear. Corn based ethanol is not the culprit for all of America’s high gas prices or the many other issues the national .
I don’t have time to debate all the points continually brought up against ethanol. However, here is a small snip it of info for you to “chew” on.
Pilgrim’s Pride Chief Executive Clint Rivers in a statement blamed new costs on “the U.S. government’s ill-advised policy of providing generous federal subsidies to corn-based ethanol blenders.” [Associated Press, 3.12.08]
Fact Check: What is not included in Mr. Rivers statement is that a host of factors, ranging from record global demand to poor weather conditions around the globe, are driving commodity prices. Moreover, Mr. Rivers conveniently ignores the processing, packaging, and transportation costs associated with oil prices climbing to record highs near $110 a barrel. In addition, no mention is made of the calculations by Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University that estimate the broiler chicken industry specifically was able to save more than $11 billion between 1997-2005 by purchasing corn and feed well below the market cost of production.(1)
Valero Energy Chief Executive Bill Kleese made the claim that, “Corn and ethanol production and the resulting high prices will impact the world in a much more acute negative way than greenhouse gas emissions and climate change ever will.” [“Valero CEO: corn ethanol worse than climate change,” Reuters, 3.12.08]
Fact Check: Compared to gasoline, ethanol is reducing global warming gas emissions by more than 20 percent.(2) As the world continues to irresponsibly deplete its reserves of traditional petroleum, new sources like tar sands in Canada must be developed. The conversion of the tar sands into a usable petroleum products produce 300 percent more greenhouse gases than traditional oil production.(3)
Mr. Kleese goes on to complain about unfair treatment by the media, referencing a “serious attack,” and that “mandates for ethanol use are creating an uneven playing field.” ”All of these programs are just a huge transfer of wealth from our industry to the Midwest farms,” Klesse said.
Fact Check: According to a report in BusinessWeek,(4) the nation’s petroleum industry is spending millions of dollars, together with livestock and food processing interests, to tarnish the public image of ethanol. BusinessWeek’s David Kiley writes, “Efforts range from funding studies that bash the spread of ethanol for driving up the price of corn, and therefore some food, to not supporting E85 pumps at gas stations.”
Fact Check #2: According to Milton Copulos at the National Defense Council Foundation, America spends nearly $140 billion a year in military protection of the oil shipping channels out of the Middle East.(5)
The less than $4 billion spent in incentives to companies like Valero to blend ethanol pales in comparison.(6)
1. “Feeding at the Trough: Industrial Livestock Firms Saved $35 billion From Low Feed Prices,” December 2007. Starmer, E. and Wise, T. of the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.
2. “Updated Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Results of Fuel Ethanol,” September 2005. Wang, M. Argonne National Laboratories.
3. “Canada’s Toxic Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth,” February 2008. Environmental Defence: http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/reports/tarsands.htm
4. “Big Oil’s Big Stall on Ethanol,” BusinessWeek, 10.01.2007. Kiley, D.
5. “The Hidden Cost of Oil,” January 2007. Copulos, M.
6. “The Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States,” February 2008. Urbanchuk, J. LECG, LLC.
So with no job, I get to fish a whole lot more! Now that is going to be expensive. What a dilemma! Guess I’ll have to get a predatory loan so I can continue to pursue those big predators of the deep on a full time basis!
Just as long as you are not the guy I pulled out of the ice this weekend 
